A detective went into a bank
by Tobina
Summary: ...and what could possibly go wrong? Shinichi just wants to pick up some documents at the bank, but obviously that is not possible without him getting tangled up in another case. Shinichi is a trouble-magnet as usual, Megure has to deal with some insecurities, and Ran and Shiho have taken some precautions. **Part 4 in the Scars-Series, but can stand alone.**
1. One

**A/N:** Hi there! I'm back and again and it's a story based on the happenings in 'Scars'. Haven't read it yet? Go - read!  
Just kidding, you can read this one without any knowledge about the prequels 'Scars', 'Guns and Gems' and 'Predicament'. Maybe there will be one or two confusing details then, but you should be fine - or just ask me, or even better - read the previous stories ;)

This will probably be a three- or four-shot and it is almost done. I think it will be around 10k words in the end. So, have fun!

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Detective Conan or any of its characters and concepts! They all belong to Gosho Aoyama.

* * *

 **A detective went into a bank...  
** o-oOo-o

This morning clearly could have gone better. Shinichi looked around him with a defeated sigh and finally resigned himself to a long time of waiting in front of the bank counter.

Left and right from him were also long queues with people, stretching through the hall with its thin pillars. Some of them seemed to be perfectly content with wasting their time here, while some others kept shuffling their feet and glancing at their watches every other minute.

If he had it his way, he would turn around on his heel right now and come back another day when it was less crowded, but Ran had sent him here and there was no way that he would go back to her without the documents they needed to buy their own home. He had failed to get them yesterday. And the day before. Though it hadn't exactly been his fault (he certainly hadn't asked for encountering a pick-pocket along the way to the bank, or for Megure to call him in because an important lead for a case he was counseling for had popped up) she still would skin him alive if he came back empty handed again.

After their wedding they had continued to live in the small apartment near the campus, but after graduation they had decided it was time to move. Ran was now employed at Beika General Hospital and Shinichi himself ran his own private investigations agency at the tender age of twenty-four. Though he still often worked as a consultant for division one and Megure had offered him a place in his team, Shinichi had declined. He too often walked on a narrow path between legality and uhm… legal grey areas to work on the police force. As a consultant, he had a tiny bit more freedom to work his way and if it was what it took to find a culprit of even save a life, he would always act first and endure Megure's shouting later.

Hattori would be so proud of him.

His friend and rival had finally found the guts to propose to Kazuha, and the wedding was planned for August this year. Ran was Kazuha's maid of honor of course, and the two women where engrossed in the details for the big day whenever they talked with each other. Shinichi was thankful that he and Ran had opted for a very small, intimate ceremony with just the two of them. Well, and Kazuha and Hattori, who had taken care of any case along the way, what included a man who had fallen to his death from the balcony of his hotel room on the 21st floor. They should have known better. Hattori plus Kudo equals an almost hundred percent chance of falling bodies.

Aside from that, everything had gone surprisingly without a hitch. Maybe – and that was a very big maybe – it was thanks to the lucky charm, Kazuha had gifted them to cancel out Shinichi's bad luck.

Yukiko had been very disappointed to find out that there would be no grand wedding for her to plan. The pouting had been too much for anyone to stand, and so they had given her free rein to plan an after-wedding party with all their friends and family. Needless to say, it had been the event of the year in Beika.

And now they were about to buy their own home.

It wasn't that far from his parent's house that was located in a quiet neighborhood and one of the few places in Beika where you could buy one-family houses. Also, it was just the right distance from their childhood-homes that they didn't have to expect their parents visiting unannounced all the time, but still close enough for Ran to drop by her father's agency to lend a hand when Eri didn't find the time to cook and clean between her cases. Not that Ran was less busy with her job, but still she found the time to help out.

They had been excited when they found the small but decent house with a garden and enough rooms for one or two future kids. Shinichi had no idea when or how they would find the time for children with their unsteady time schedules, but every now and then the idea of small feet running towards him crossed his mind, and someday he really wanted to have a son or a daughter with Ran. Maybe not right now, but they still had time. No need to rush it.

For now, he had to pick up some documents to prove that they had the financial needs to stem the purchase. Even though the name 'Kudou' alone was kind of an assurance, it was no official credit status, and they had to follow the procedure like everyone else.

Leaning a bit to the side to count how many people were standing before him, Shinichi frowned, a bit annoyed with himself. Eleven. He really should have made an appointment. At least he didn't have any clients for the morning, so he was in no hurry. All he had planned was to meet up with Ran for lunch. A quick glance on his cellphone and he knew that he was here for twenty minutes already. Taking into account that some people would probably need more than five minutes to take care of their business, he would have to wait for more than one hour before it was his turn.

Maybe he should send her a quick text, just in case. That way she hopefully wouldn't be too angry if he was late or even had to cancel their lunch date altogether.

He reached for his phone again, beginning to type the message and when the line of waiting people was moving, he took a step forward without looking up - and promptly bumped into the man in front of him who turned around with an irritated expression.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" Shinichi excused himself with a quick bow, and hastily took a step back to give the man some room. "I wasn't paying attention."

"I can see that," the man growled with a look at the phone Shinichi was still holding. Without another word he turned back again.

Shinichi eyed him from behind. He was tall for a Japanese man, well-built and maybe in his late thirties. All in all, he didn't seem to be a very pleasant person with that scowl on his face and a pair of very sharp eyes that had drilled into Shinichi's head.

But what unsettled Shinichi most was that he was almost sure he had felt a gun underneath the man's jacket when he had collided with him.

He was no police officer Shinichi was acquainted with – and he knew every Detective, Inspector or higher positioned officer in the department at least by sight. All officers lower ranked than a Detective were not allowed to carry their weapon out of uniform.

It was possible that he was from another department, but even then, Shinichi knew many of them from his time as Conan. He had really gotten about in these days.

So, what now?

He felt uneasy doing nothing, but calling the man out on it could mean trouble as well. If he really was up to something, Shinichi could make it worse if he exposed him. He decided to send a message to Megure as a precaution. Maybe he even could find out who the man was.

As discreet as possible, he shot a photo of the man's profile when he was looking to the side. As a private investigator, the shutter of his phone camera was always on silent mode. It wouldn't do him any good if he was shadowing a suspect and gave himself away with the sound of him taking a picture.

'Unidentified male person in the Second National Bank. Most probably armed with a gun. Couldn't verify. Many people around. Identification possible? Backup?'

He attached the photo and pressed 'send'. With any luck, Megure was able to answer him right away and maybe even give an all-clear.

Shinichi's eyes scanned the room more thoroughly for possible accomplices. He went with the worst-case scenario just to be prepared. It would be just typical for him to stumble into an ongoing bank robbery.

Unfortunately, robbers didn't always tend to look like criminals on the outside, and the weather today was a bit chilly and windy, so almost every person in the bank was wearing a jacket or a coat, under wich a weapon easily could be hidden. It was still early march after all. With not much to go by, he eagerly waited for Megure's response and observed if any kind of non-verbal communication was going on. Eye-contact. Hand signs. Much could be used to coordinate a group without standing out too much.

After a few minutes his phone vibrated in his hand.

'Identity confirmed. Sugihara Kenta. Wanted for several violent armed robberies in other prefectures. Works with accomplices. Stay low! ! ! ! ! Backup is on the way!'

Shinichi suppressed a groan. Just great. Violent armed robberies. That indicated that there had been casualties at least once.

 _'Five exclamation marks, Inspector? I'm not_ that _bad!'_

Well, all he could to do was to keep an eye on Sugihara, and hope that the backup team would be here before the robbers decided to take action. He had nothing on his person to be of much help anyway. He didn't wear his power-enhanced shoes today, as the Professor still had to make some that weren't sneakers. The old design didn't go well with the black suit and light-blue dress shirt he was wearing, and Shinichi didn't want to look like a hipster. The tranquilizer-gun was in repair. All he had was a pair of handcuffs. A habit he had taken on after he had chased down a culprit and had been in desperate need for something to tie him down with.

"Mommy, can we go home now?"

Shinichi's eyes were drawn to a little girl standing right in front of Sugihara with her mother. He smiled a bit. She looked like a small Ran with her brown hair and the big blue eyes. He was just wondering what the kid was doing here when it was a school day and she seemed to be in pre-school at least. Though her face was a bit pale, so maybe she had been sick and was still recuperating. Right now, she was tugging impatiently at her mother's jacket, eager to leave already.

"Sorry, Meiko, just a bit longer," the mother answered her with a look to the bank counter. Her shoulders slumped, and Shinichi could relate. Keeping children entertained in such a boring environment was tiring. He remembered several occasions where he had the pleasure when he still had been with the detective boys. And sure enough, Meiko didn't look pleased as she pouted.

"But I want to go home! You said we would be back in time for the Kamen Yaiba rerun!" Her bottom-lip trembled, and Shinichi tensed. A child throwing a tantrum was the last thing he needed right now. Especially, as she was standing much too close to Sugihara.

"Look Meiko," the mother said, crouching to get on eye-level with her daughter. "I know I promised, but I can't help it – we really have to cash this check, so we can go grocery shopping on our way home. Remember? We wanted to get your favorite ice-cream."

It was an admirable attempt, but the kid's patience had run out.

"I want ice-cream! Now!" Meiko screeched with a now bright red face, her little fists drummed against her mother's shoulders, who tried to calm her down in vain. She was clearly embarrassed by Meiko's break down in public.

Shinichi swallowed, and frantically tried to think of something to defuse the situation - when it was already too late.

Meiko gave a very strong push, and her mother stumbled backwards against Sugihara, who in turn bumped hard against Shinichi, making both of them tumble to the floor.

Half buried underneath Sugihara with the wind knocked out of him, the man's gun was now pressed against Shinichi's stomach, but he couldn't get it, because the jacket was in the way.

Sugihara cursed and pushed his hands against the floor to get up. "Damn brat!" When his gaze fell on Shinichi, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Something must have shown on Shinichi's face, because the robber tsk-ed and drew the gun, pointing it at Shinichi, who was still on the floor a bit winded.

"To hell with it! Nobody moves!" Sugihara shouted, and simultaneously one man in every queue pulled out a gun, aiming around them. So, three robbers in total. The people next to them scrambled as far back from the weapon-wielding men as they could, tripping over others in the process. In no time panic had taken over.

Meiko had ceased her crying, and was staring wide-eyed at the gun, holding tightly onto her mother.

When the turmoil went on, Sugihara lifted the muzzle of his gun to the ceiling and shot.

"Shut! Up!"

Screams followed the deafening 'bang', then silence, interrupted by some sobbing hiccups.

Shinichi would have tackled Sugihara the moment the gun was no longer on him, but he couldn't risk the life of the other people. With two more armed robbers it was just out of the question.

He gritted his teeth in frustration and slowly stood up.

Immediately, Sugihara focused on him again. "Who the fuck said you could get up?!"

Before Shinichi could brace himself, he was struck hard with the gun's butt across the face and pain pierced through his skull, closely followed by complete blackness.

* * *

 **TBC**


	2. Two

o-oOo-o

Megure sat at his desk in the Beika Police Department, scratching his head under the ever-present hat. Just who had come up with all these forms they had to fill out for each and every case? Must have been someone who had never run an investigation himself.

He reached for the cup of coffee next to an impressive pile of manila folders and nipped on it, only to put it aside in disgust. Cold… again.

The Inspector sighed, got up and took the cup to drain it in the next sink and refill it with some new, hot, sense-reviving coffee. When he came back, his phone signaled him a new message.

He called it up. A text and a picture. Sender: Kudou Shinichi.

Megure hummed. Of course. Kudou was always in contact with him for one case or another. He was still mourning the loss for his task force as the boy had turned down his offer to join. Still, he was a great asset to the MPD and Megure was grateful Kudou had decided to at least stay in Beika.

Sometimes, he still wondered if the district would be calmer without the young detective around, but he was sure that won't be true. There would be as much murders, kidnappings and so on, just if Kudou wasn't there to solve cases, chances were that more crimes would go unnoticed – hence appearing as if the crime rate had dropped.

Not a reassuring thought.

Opening the picture first, Megure frowned.

He knew he had seen this man before, even if he could just see the face in profile, but he couldn't immediately say where. Switching to the text, his eyes skimmed over the few lines and he gasped as it hit him.

Forcefully setting down the cup and making its dark content spill on the desk, he sent a quick reply, dialed a number and waited for a connection. His churning gut was telling him that this could end badly if they weren't fast enough. Kudou just seemed to attract these kinds of situations and not seldom they ended with a visit to the hospital for the young man. He just hoped five exclamation marks were enough to convey his message. Stay low! Don't do anything rash!

"Satou-keiji! Gather the task force right now!" he barked into the receiver. "Possible robbery at the Second National Bank. Confirmed suspect is Sugihara Kenta, so it's highly probable that he is not working alone."

Satou Miwako knew when a case was dicey and hurried to wave Takagi over, giving him the instructions. "Do we have contact into the bank?" she asked. With someone on site it could be easier. Could be more difficult as well, depending on who it was.

"Kind of," Megure answered. "We got a text-message and a photo." He exhaled heavily. Satou and Takagi as well as the rest of the department knew what his next words meant. "It's from Kudou-kun."

Satou looked up at the ceiling for a moment. Well, damn.

o-oOo-o

When Shinichi slowly came to, his head was an aching mess. Opening his eyes a slit ended in a pained hiss. Light-sensitive. Fantastic. Probably a concussion if the also underlying feeling of nausea was anything to go by. How many did that make? … He couldn't concentrate enough to come up with a definite number, but he was sure he'd had his fair share of head injuries to last for the rest of his life.

Carefully, he tried again. One eye felt a bit sticky. Blood? He sat slumped over with his arms in an uncomfortable angle behind him, holding him up. Looking down, he could also see blood staining his dress-shirt. Must have dripped down from his headwound. Almost impossible to clean up – would be easier to just buy a new one. He leaned back to ease the strained muscles in his shoulders and felt the cold surface of a pillar. His arms were positioned around it, his hands chained with what were most certainly his own handcuffs.

"Awake again?" a scruffy voice he faintly recognized sneered at him. His vision was still blurry, but he could see a person-shaped shadow coming closer and next something warm and hard was pressed against his temple. ' _Gun. Recently fired. I can still smell the gunpowder very prominently and the muzzle hasn't cooled down yet.'_

"Who are you?" the voice went on. Still dizzy and disoriented, he had problems to place it and to comprehend what the hell was going on. The muzzle was shoved against his head again, a bit more forcefully this time. "Are you a cop? You don't have a badge. You don't even have a damn wallet on you!"

No wallet? Huh, how come? He always took it from the decorative bowl next to the door when he left the apartment. And today? Today… Ran had called the moment he was about to leave, reminding him to go to the bank. She'd had to leave early and wanted to make sure he didn't forget. He must have left his wallet at home and he didn't even notice until now.

He let out a short snort. Of course – typical. He would have waited for hours just to find that he had no bank card, no ID, no nothing. And now he was chained to a pillar with a gun to his head and a headache so massive he could barely see straight.

With some effort he lifted his head to his assaulter. Hopefully the pain would cease a bit after a few minutes, or he would be completely useless and defenseless here.

"Not a cop," he answered a bit slurred. He was finally able to put a name to the voice and to recall what exactly had happened. Sugihara Kenta. Two more men with guns. Bank robbery. A kid that looked like Ran.

His eyes searched for Meiko and he was relieved to see that she was fine, and huddled next to her mother, sitting at the wall next to him with the other people – hostages.

The police were nowhere to be seen or heard, so he couldn't have been out for long.

Sugihara bent down to him, his breath ghosting over Shinichi's face, who suppressed the urge to turn his head away. "So, what – you're a kinky son of a bitch? Carrying handcuffs around?"

Shinichi didn't care what Sugihara called him. Obviously, he hadn't been recognized as a private detective, and he intended to leave it at that. If the criminal underestimated him, maybe it gave Shinichi more options.

Another shove. "Answer me, pervert!"

"He's not a pervert!" a small voice squeaked up. "He's with the Detective Boys!"

Both, Sugihara and Shinichi turned their heads and looked at Meiko in surprise, who hurriedly tried to hide behind her mother.

Sugihara got up and went over to the other hostages. Meiko's mother stared at him in horror and shielded her little girl. "No, le-leave her alone, please! She… she doesn't know what she's saying, she's just…"

"Quiet!" Sugihara snapped at her and pointed his gun at the woman's chest, while fixating his eyes on Meiko. "Better tell me what you know, girl. Who is he?"

"Kudou Shinichi," Shinichi cut in. Scaring the girl even further wasn't worth it. She must have seen him related to the cases he had solved with the Detective Boys after he had been back as Shinichi for good. He had taken them under his wing for some time, to be sure they wouldn't get into trouble without Conan around. She was the age where she was most likely to be interested in them. "A private detective," he added. So much for his plan to hide his identity.

Sugihara watched him taxingly. "Kudou Shinichi, hm…"

"Now I remember him too," another of the criminals spoke up. "He's in the papers all the time. Solving murder cases and stuff."

"Y' can read the newspapers, Ichikawa?" the third one laughed mockingly.

"Shut up, Muto," Ichikawa growled back.

"Shut it! Both of you!"

It was clear, that Sugihara was the leader and maybe the other two weren't the brightest bulbs in the box, but that didn't mean they weren't able to shoot someone. For sure there had to be a fourth man outside the bank with a getaway car.

Sugihara came back to Shinichi's side with a calculating smile Shinichi didn't like at all. He set his jaw and stared back with a steady, determined gaze. He wouldn't show weakness in front of a criminal – ever. Even if it took some concentration to keep himself from throwing up due to the concussion.

The man squatted down. "So, you're a private detective. A famous one even. I think I can work with that." He took Shinichi's phone out of a pocket in his jacket. "I'm sure you've already informed your friends, obedient dog that you are. You knew I had a weapon after we collided, didn't you? That cuts the time we have, unfortunately."

He turned around and gestured at Muto. "Take the bank director and let him hand over the cash. And don't try to hide anything," he smirked at the director, who got up when faced with a weapon. "We know that you've got money today. So, hurry up!"

"Even if they got money today, it won't be that much," Shinichi stated calmly. "Banks have an eye on the amount of money in the branches, so it will never be more than a defined sum. Does this really pay off for you?"

Sugihara laughed. "Yeah, right – that's true, but I tell you something. A penny stolen is a penny earned, or so the saying goes. Of course, it is a pain to rob many small banks like this here instead of just a big one and be done with it." He craned his neck to check Muto's progress with the money. "But the smaller branches' security isn't as high, and we are in and off again before the police even know we've been there." A quick annoyed glare as sirens howled outside. "Well, normally that is. Today might be a bit more complicated. Good thing I'm a sucker for the thrill," he grinned and held up Shinichi's phone. "Care to unlock that for me?"

o-oOo-o

With screeching tires, Megure's car came to a stop in front of the bank, accompanied by five more police cars, which's occupants quickly got out and took aim at the entrance. Some ran to put up barrier tape to keep bystanders at bay and out of the danger zone.

A waiting transporter was identified as getaway car and promptly secured, the driver arrested.

Megure took out a megaphone. "This is the police! You are surrounded! Give up and leave the bank with your hands above your heads!"

He didn't believe that would actually happen, but it was some kind of opening-phrase to begin the negotiations. Just when he thought he'd waited long enough for a response, his cellphone rang. Startled, he read the caller-ID. 'Kudou Shinichi' was displayed on the screen. He gestured for Satou and Takagi to come over and warily tapped on the green shaded 'accept'. "Kudou-kun?"

"Sorry, no," came a rough voice out of the speaker, decidedly not Kudou's. The three officers exchanged a glance. For the robber to use Kudou's phone to call Megure directly could only mean that Kudou's identity was already known to him. Not good.

"He's a bit – occupied at the moment, but I'm sure you wanted to talk to me anyway, so he didn't mind that I lent his phone."

Megure's hand gripped the phone a bit tighter. Seemed like they would need the ambulance that was arriving just now after all.

He hated it!

It made him feel as a failure as a police officer. Kudou was so young and still he had already faced off with more criminals than some officers got to see in their whole career, before he had been of legal age. And not just small pick-pockets or such, no – Kudou seemed always to be drawn to the big shots. Or they to him. Whatever the case, it often left Megure with not more than the clean-up and Kudou in bandages.

Megure wasn't alone with this feeling of helplessness regarding their young consultant. He knew that the whole task force was very protective of him. Those who knew about Conan even more so, like Satou and Takagi.

Why was it that one young man outsmarted the whole department with ease without ever having seen the insides of a police academy? Don't get it wrong – Megure was thankful for the help, and he felt some kind of surrogate-fatherly pride whenever Kudou had done it again, but still…

Shouldn't _they_ be the ones solving the cases, cornering armed criminals, defusing bombs – the list went on.

The case of the Black Organization was still a sore spot for Megure. He could understand that Kudou had tried to keep the number of involved people as small as possible, and that there had been moles in the police, but he knew Megure _for years._ He should have been able to trust in him to handle the situation. Still, he had decided that the matter was too dangerous for the police to know – _the police!_

Until today, Megure hadn't been able to swallow that entirely, maybe he never would, no matter in how high regards he held Kudou. It stung.

And therefore, he would absolutely not fail him today! It was just not an option. Period.

"What do you want?" he pressed out through clenched teeth.

"Getting straight to the point I see? I like that," Sugihara laughed. "Alright then – I'm sure you know that I have more than enough hostages in here to be a real problem for you guys. But differing from your opinion, I don't like to shoot kids, women and old geezers all that much. I really don't, but you see – you don't leave me any other option if you don't guarantee for our safe escape. What brings me to my point: I want my transporter and driver back. You've arrested him, right? Set him free. I want to see the car right before the door in less than fifteen minutes or the first hostage will kick the bucket."

With that the connection was cut.

He wasn't negotiating – just demanding.

A heavy breath left Megure. Meeting Sugihara's order wasn't a problem. They had figured that he would want something like that and had kept car and driver nearby. But what would come next?

He feared, he knew how this was going to continue. Kudou was just too valuable as hostage to let him go before they were sure they were safe. So, they would most likely take him with them. The only blessing was that a dead hostage would be useless.

He just hoped that the criminals thought so too

* * *

 **TBC**


	3. three

o-oOo-o

Muto and the director came back with three nondescript backpacks. One for each robber.

"Good," Sugihara said. He was still holding Shinichi's phone after he had called Megure. He turned to the hostages sitting against the wall. "Our ride will be back shortly. As soon as it's here we will let all of you go free."

Relieved mumbling erupted.

"Just so you know – if the police make any ruckus or the car is not here within the time limit. Well, then blame them," he grinned, and playfully trained his gun on a man then a woman, before returning to Shinichi's side.

"Hey there, detective, having a good time?"

Shinichi just gave him a short sidelong glance, huffing. His head was still throbbing, but at least the nausea had died down a bit. "You really think you will get out of here with the money?"

"Oh, hell yeah, detective. After all, you'll be accompanying us, so I'm sure none of your friends will get in our way."

Shinichi had deduced that much already. It wasn't that hard to figure out that he was their best bet for a clean getaway. But even if they used him as a shield, at this distance the police snipers were good enough to take them out anyway. So how did they plan to reach the car? When the penny dropped, he rolled his eyes. Of course, …

Sugihara nudged him in the side and laughed. "Hah, seems as if you came up with something. Go ahead – explain it for the others."

"Do it yourself," Shinichi harrumphed. Like hell he would give them ideas.

These sharp eyes were on him again. Sugihara wasn't stupid, far from it. He was the reason the group had escaped capture so far. Shinichi wondered why a man like him was leading the life of a criminal. For sure he must have had other options.

"Fine – have it your way, detective," he stood up. "When the car arrives – and let's hope for all of you the driver really is our man and not some officer – I want all of you to get up and go to the door. No talking, no funny movements, no nothing. You'll be dead before you know it. Who has a backpack– put it on. You two," he gestured at two young, strong looking men. "You'll support our detective here and lead him to the car. If you just so much as exchange a word with him or try to free him... I don't think I have to spell it out for you, right?"

Both men nodded with pale faces and a brief apologizing glance in Shinichi's direction.

He couldn't blame them for following orders when their lives were at stake. They didn't even know him personally, so it was only human to think of their own wellbeing first. The moment he had realized the robbers would use the crowd of hostages to get out of the bank, he had known that he would end up in that car if he wanted or not. The police couldn't risk shootingwith so many people close to each other. Especially not, when they couldn't tell who was a criminal and who not. The time it took to make out the features from the wanted posters would be enough for the robbers to reach the safety of their car. And to take Shinichi with them.

He really hated his life sometimes.

Maybe he should give writing a try once this was over. It had worked out just fine for his father.

But he knew he couldn't ignore his sense of justice. He would always thrive in picking apart a trick, deducing motives and arresting criminals. It was just who he was.

All he wished for was maybe a little less trouble coming with his passion.

But that seemed to be asked too much.

o-oOo-o

The transporter parked in front of the bank, effectively blocking the direct view of the door. Megure had positioned his men already accordingly and the snipers on the neighboring rooftops had clearance to shoot at sight.

The palm of his hand holding his phone was a bit sweaty, as he waited for another call from Sugihara.

Just when he wondered what kind of demand would be next, the door opened.

"Attention, everyone!" he shouted and quickly pocketed his phone, exchanging it for his weapon and took cover behind the bullet-proof door of the car, positioned sideways to the transporter, so he could at least see _something_.

The second the door was fully open, a flood of people exited the bank, keeping close to each other. Megure cursed. This way the snipers would have a hard time to get their targets. The slide-door on the car's side was already open, he knew, and people passed by closely on every side.

His headset cracked slightly in his ear. "No target sighted by now. Several people carrying backpacks." Megure was sure that at least some of them were filled with money, but they didn't know how many accomplices were present. On the past robberies the number of culprits had varied between two to four. It couldn't be ruled out that there were even more of them.

Another crack. "Kudou Shinichi in sight."

Megure's heart sank a bit – there seemed to be no way to get him out right now. _'I'm sorry, Kudou-kun.'_ What frightened him most was that the criminals wouldn't need him any more once they felt safe. The timeframe to rescue him was short – very short.

"Kudou-san is in the car now, two men followed closely."

There were less people now. Most of the former hostages were already under protection. Suddenly a man stumbled over a dropped handbag and the man behind him had to come to a sudden stop, not to fall over him. The second man had been headed to the car instead of the police barrier, hadn't he? They were the last two on the small sideway.

The next moment a silenced shot rang out and the man dropped. The slide-door of the car closed, and the engine roared up as the driver accelerated and sped off. Megure's phone rang and vibrated in his pocket and a few seconds later a window of the car was opened and something small was thrown out, shattering on the asphalt.

Fuming, Megure look at the picture he just got from the robbers – now kidnappers. His insides clenched, his hands were cold. The picture showed Kudou-kun on the floor of the car, handcuffed and bleeding from a nasty-looking gash on his temple. A gun was pressed to his head and he looked up at the camera from his lying position with a defiant expression. The text beneath it was short and simple.

'Don't follow!'

"Damn it!" Megure swore.

An officer ran up to him with the thing that had been thrown out of the window and handed it to him. It was Kudou's phone that, surprisingly, was still turned on and functioning, even though the screen was covered with spiderweb-like fractures and the case was cracked and had splintered in several places. For sure Agasa Hakase had a hand in this.

The display showed the message, Megure had just received with the lable 'Sent'.

Some paramedics ran passed him to attend to the man the sniper had gotten. Sato and Takagi were already over there as well. Megure was about to join them, when Kudou's phone – or what was left of it – started to vibrate.

Incoming call: 'Kudou Ran'.

Megure sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand before he accepted the call. Delaying it would just make it worse.

"Shinichi, I got your message," Ran started to speak without waiting for a response. "What do you think, will you make it for lunch? If not, I can ask Shiho-san…"

"Ran-kun," Megure interrupted her.

Silence on the other end, then a wary "Megure-keibu?"

Megure took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The strength of Ran was really admirable, seeing how much she already had been through with Shinichi/Conan and her dad. He hoped this strength would help her through another crisis.

He cleared his throat. "Ran-kun, I'm afraid Kudou-kun got caught up in a robbery at the bank while he was there."

"What?" Ran exclaimed. She sounded torn between annoyed and worried, though her tone was leaning more towards worried, obviously anxious why Megure was answering Shinichi's phone instead of he himself.

"Is he alright? Where is he?"

"Ran-kun, I think you should head to the station right now. We will meet up there. Kudou-kun – he has been taken hostage by the criminals."

A sharp intake of air sounded over the line.

"He's fine, he's fine," Megure hurried to reassure her. The headwound hadn't looked _too_ bad and he had been conscious. He didn't want her to panic. "Just – we don't know where they are taking him." _'And what they plan to do with him,'_ though he didn't voice that thought. "I want you to be close by if any news come in."

"Okay," Ran replied a bit breathless. Was she running?

"I will be there shortly. I will bring Shiho-, um-Miyano-san with me."

With that she ended the call and left Megure with a baffled blink.

Miyano-san? The former little Haibara-san, who had created this strange poison and the antidote? Why would she bring her along?

Well, he would care about it later. Now he had to organize this chaos and find a clue where to look for Kudou-kun. Maybe he could get something from the hurt robber. He intended to ask him very – _nicely_.

As he came closer to the ambulance, he was able to make out the features of the arrested man.

 _'Sugihara!'_

o-oOo-o

Not even half an hour later, Megure, Satou and Takagi stood around Sugihara's hospital bed. His left hand was cuffed to the bed railing and fresh bandages piqued out of the collar of his hospital gown.

He had been more than lucky. The bullet had just left a deep graze at his right side and nothing major was damaged. He didn't even need surgery, what was very fortunate, because now the officers could interrogate him.

"Sugihara-san," Satou began. "Let's get over with this quickly, so you can rest a bit. Where is your hideout?"

Sugihara snorted at the acted concern over his wellbeing and turned his head to the window without giving an answer.

Now it was Takagi's turn. "You know, if you're working with us now, maybe your punishment will be lessened. I mean - your buddies left you behind, right? So why cover for them?"

The robber looked at Takagi with a grin. "They will not leave me here to rot in a cell. Did you forget that they took your precious detective with them? Better prepare for their call instead of asking me stupid questions."

Megure cleared his throat with a somber expression. "Kudou Shinichi - is dead."

"What?" Sugihara exclaimed and stared at the inspector. "You're bluffing."

Without a word, Megure dropped a file on Sugihara's bed, just within his reach.

"About ten minutes after they fled from the bank, we received a call from a civilian. He found Kudou-kun lifeless in an alley." His voice sounded a bit scratchy. "In this file you will find the autopsy report and some pictures. I think that should be proof enough."

Megure watched as Sugihara flipped through the pages. The whole file was forged of course, but the knowledge that he could hold a real one in his hands soon left a bitter taste in his mouth. After they had been told that they were able to interrogate the man, they had known that he wouldn't talk - unless he was convinced that he was on his own. So, they had to fool him, to create the illusion that his accomplices didn't have a hostage any more. And who would be better with illusions than a magician?

o-oOo-o _Flashback_ o-oOo-o

Kaito sat backstage. It was still a while before his show began, but he was always early on set to check his equipment and the stage. Now he had some time to kill and practiced a small trick, he intended to use during the show.

After finishing high-school, he had begun to study engineering and chemistry. As part-time job he had given small shows in a local theater and finally - with a graduation certificate in one hand and a beaming if slightly embarrassed Aoko in his other arm, he had declared the beginning of his official first tour.

He had decided that his first tour would be a secret homage to his late father, so he would visit all the cities, the first Kaitou KID had held a heist in. Not many people today remembered the first KID (most didn't even know there had been two different men behind the monocle) and even if someone should realize it, Kaito had never made a secret of his admiration for the thief.

The show tonight was held in Vegas, the next one would be in Paris, the city his parents had fallen in love with each other, and the final one would be in Tokyo, their family's hometown and the place Kaito felt closest to his father.

While his hands ran through the trick almost automatically, his phone began to ring. The caller-ID made him frown. Whenever Megure called him directly, something serious was going on.

Despite this knowledge, he answered the call with a cheerful voice. "Hello there, keibu. What can I do for you this lovely evening?"

"Kuroba-kun, I'm glad I got a hold on you so fast. I need a favor," the Inspector rattled away without bothering to exchange pleasantries.

His tone had Kaito on edge immediately. "What's the matter, keibu?"

"It's about Kudou-kun, he has been kidnapped."

This sentence probably should have shocked him more, but to be honest - where Kudou was concerned, trouble wasn't far behind. It was just unbelievable _how often_ something like this occurred.

Kaito took a deep breath. Time to find out how bad it really was. "Alright, Inspector. Whatever you need - you can count on me."

Since KID's 'death', he had helped out the police every now and then. Never anything major, just some consulting when it came to thieves they had a hard time catching and such. His connections to the underground sadly couldn't be used anymore without giving away that KID was still alive.

Megure came straight to the point. "I need you to dress up as Kudou-kun and take some pictures. It has to look like, well... like he is dead and in the morgue." His voice trailed off a bit at the end, but Kaito caught it nonetheless.

"Dead? Morgue? What did this idiot do this time?"

"Listen Kuroba, I will explain everything later, but we don't have the time right know. I'll send you a picture we got from the kidnappers, so you can see what he looked like today."

 _'And what kind of injuries I have to fake,'_ Kaito knew without Megure saying it straight out. His mind already worked on the setting for the photo. Makeup wouldn't be a problem. He just needed...

"Alright, Megure-keibu, give me twenty minutes and I'll send you something convincing."

"Thank you, Kuroba-kun. I'll be waiting." And then Megure hung up.

Kaito closed his eyes for a moment, sent a short prayer to whatever god was in charge of detectives and shouted for his assistant.

"Natsuki-chan! I need my makeup-kit, camera and the metal table they use for the catering. Oh, and about a ton of hair gel."

o-oOo-o _Flashback end_ o-oOo-o

When Sugihara came to the part with the pictures, he paused for a moment before he exploded. "Theses idiots! Why did they - how the hell did that happen?"

"We don't know either, but we suspect that without their leader, they became headless and maybe..."

"Leader?" Sugihara huffed. "You think I'm the leader of this pack? No, no," he laughed. "I'm just an operative. Yeah, sure - I've got more brains than the other two, but the boss is someone else." After realizing that most likely no one would come to retrieve him, he became talkative. "The man you must watch out for is Kitamura, the driver."

"The driver?" Megure asked astonished. The man they'd already had in custody, but had to let go again. Damn! They didn't have the time to check him thoroughly, as they had kept him close to the bank.

Sugihara nodded. "He is the one who chooses the bank, who coordinates the getaway and who takes care of the money. He is a brilliant hacker and so he always knows which bank gets money and when. He also is a hunter. He's not much of a shot with a gun, but give him a rifle and he will hit a running target no problem."

Megure didn't like that at all. Would this Kitamura really try to free Sugihara? Or will he decide to leave him behind? In that case, Kudou-kun could be dead already for real.

"Okay, so let me ask the first question again. Where is the hideout?"

"Hard to tell," Sugihara shrugged.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Satou asked impatiently. The man was wasting precious time here.

"It's not _one_ hideout," the robber clarified. "There are several of them and we are never told which one we are going to use until after the coup, to avoid leaks in case one of us gets caught." He laughed again. "Damn, Kitamura really knew what he was doing."

The officers looked at each other in alarm. Even if Sugihara told them every hideout he knew about, they still didn't know which one was used this time.

Seemed like they had no option but to wait for the kidnappers to make contact.

* * *

 **TBC**


	4. four

o-oOo-o

Shinichi was thrown back and forth whenever the transporter slowed down or sped up, as he lay on the floor and couldn't brace himself with his hands cuffed behind his back. They had blindfolded him with a dark piece of cloth he couldn't see anything through, and gagged him by stuffing some fabric into his mouth and sealing it with a generous amount of tape. He had lost any sense of orientation by now, he just knew that they were on the road for approximately an hour. Time enough to make it to the outer districts of Tokyo.

They had shouted at each other at the beginning and he had just been able to get half of it, because his ears had been ringing again after the harsh throw into the car.

But he was pretty sure that they were one man short and he hadn't heard Sugihara even once. Had he been captured? What did that mean for him? A missing leader could be both, better or worse. The group had Sugihara as the boss and the brain of their robberies. Muto had a mean gleam in his eyes and Shinichi was sure that he had a sadistic streak to him. Ichikawa seemed to be a mere henchman, a bit of a brute. He had yet to learn about the driver. What kind of character was he?

The street below them suddenly got rough and bumpy and after a few more minutes they came to a stop.

The slide-door was opened, and someone grabbed onto his legs, dragging him to the edge of the car's floor, before letting go and pulling him up by his collar. The transporter drove away behind him and for a moment he wondered if they would just leave him here – wherever that was before he received a strong shove on his back.

He felt gravel beneath his shoes, while he was being pushed forward. He heard two sets of steps aside from his own and shortly after another was hurrying to catch up with them. The driver? Maybe he had parked the car somewhere inconspicuous. Without being able to see anything, he staggered a few times before they came to a stop.

"Climb in," Ichikawa ordered, and Shinichi lifted his foot, unsure how high the obstacle in front of him was. Seemingly it was enough, because another hard push sent him forward and he landed on his left shoulder, wincing at the impact. Two men followed, and he heard the clapping of doors.

 _'Another transporter? So, we switched cars to avoid it being spotted as the getaway car.'_

"An' what now?" came Muto's gruffy voice from his right side. "A' we going to abandon Sugihara just like that? Without him we-"

"Of course not," a deep, rather pleasant voice answered. Nameless criminal number four. "I'm sure they will be eager to exchange him for this one here, don't you think?"

He sounded calm, calculated.

Muto laughed spitefully, and patted Shinichi's head, who flinched away from the touch. "Yeah, o'course they would want their doggie back."

"Stop playing with him," nameless criminal number four scolded.

"Kitamura, y're really no fun at all, y'know that?" Muto complained.

Kitamura didn't deem this to be worth an answer and ignored him. "We soon will be at our hideout. Then we will contact the police. We don't have the detective's phone any longer, but we couldn't risk having it tracked. The official number of the department will do."

Shinichi's mind raced. At least they wouldn't shoot him anytime soon. He still had the chance to get out of this. One was always the most vulnerable while traveling or changing locations. His best option to flee would be when they arrived at the hideout and before they locked him up somewhere.

He just had to get rid of the blindfold or he wouldn't be able to run. Shouldn't be too difficult. He would try to open the handcuffs with his hidden lock-pick right now, but he didn't know how his captors were positioned to him and how much they could see.

Why he carried a lock-pick? Well, one wasn't friends with a professional stage magician and former thief for nothing. With how often he ended up in precarious situations, Kuroba had insisted that he had at least _something_ with him all the time. A lock-pick was easy to hide and didn't get in the way in his everyday life. This one was hidden in the back-seam of his pants' waistline. A good place to reach when your hands were cuffed behind you – unless a pillar was in the way, like in the bank.

Once free, he would just have to hold out until the cavalry arrived. He wondered if Ran already knew what had happened. Then they at least wouldn't have any trouble finding him.

o-oOo-o

"You _what_?"

Megure's eyes were as wide as Satou's and Takagi's, his eyebrows disappearing under the brim of his hat.

"We chipped him," came the unfazed answer from the young woman with the short light-brown hair. She sat in a chair facing the Inspector, next to her Kudou Ran, who looked rather nervous, especially in contrast to the cool demeanor of the other female.

Megure had always found Haibara Ai to be a bit... distant, but her older version, Miyano Shiho, brought his awkwardness to a whole new level. How could she say something like this with a straight face, let alone _do_ something like this? Come to think of it - was it even legal?

He looked over to Ran, not entirely sure it wasn't a joke, but her fidgeting behavior was confirmation enough. They had chipped Kudou Shinichi.

Huh...

Ran wrung her hands in her lap. "Well, Megure-keibu - you know how often he ends up in trouble, and I was always so worried about him and then Fukui Kamiko happened and I just..." she helplessly hunched her shoulders.

Oh yes, Megure remembered this incident very clearly. For fact it was hard to forget the picture of Kudou unconscious on the floor and at the mercy of a crazed fan girl. The boy had escaped death by a hair's breadth - again.

"So, we thought about different options to prevent something like that to happen again, but-"

Ran was cut off by Shiho. "We concluded that everything removable, like his usual trackers, phone, clothes, were too easy to get rid of. An implant was a better choice since it would go unnoticed except in an x-ray or a similar medical scan. And even then, you have to know what you are looking for. It is very small, and you can neither see or feel it under the skin. It also is absolutely maintenance-free and will last his whole life."

She seemed rather pleased with her explanation, as she leaned back in her chair.

"So," Takagi tried to comprehend. "You can scan Kudou-kun, like a cat or dog and know where he belongs?"

That earned him an 'are you an idiot'-look from Shiho.

"Of course not. It is just a tracker and to protect his privacy, Ran-san and I are the only ones who are in possession of a receiver for the signal.

That had been something Shinichi had been very adamant about. Just the thought that for example his mother would be able to follow his every step and haul him off for a surprise-shopping-spree had sent shivers down his spine.

Shiho pulled her laptop out of the black leather bag she had brought along and put it on the table. She flipped it open and called up a program she had developed with Agasa Hakase's help. After a few moments a map showed on the screen, and a small dot blinked in the middle of it, changing position every five seconds.

"They are still moving," she said while turning the laptop around for the officers to see. "I would say not more than one hour from here - west bound."

Megure eyed the map - and blinked in surprise after a few seconds. "I think they stopped. Just on the outskirts of Tokyo."

Satou turned the laptop in her direction, ignoring Megure's short protest. "It's a closed industrial area. Not many people go there anymore, but there are plenty of old machine halls and such. For sure a good spot if you don't like a lively neighborhood."

"Alright," Megure concluded. "Let's get everything ready. We don't want Kudou-kun with them any longer than necessary."

When Satou and Takagi got up to take care of their departure, Ran declared, "I'm coming with you."

Megure studied her determined face and sighed. She wouldn't go down without a fight, but damned should he be if he allowed her to run into trouble just like that. He stealed himself. "No! You will stay put! Even if I have to lock you up in a holding-cell. It's bad enough that we have to go and rescue Kudou-kun, but I will not allow another civilian to get dragged into this. Do you understand?"

"But, Inspector, I-"

"Do. You. Understand?" he snapped at her. Normally he would never talk to her like this, but he wouldn't be able to look Mouri-kun in the eyes again if his daughter were hurt under his watch.

Ran's hands clenched into fists at her sides, her whole body was tense, and she fought a silent battle of will against Megure - neither breaking eye-contact.

She never stood a chance. Megure had stared down criminals for years. A worried woman was no match for him. Muss less a woman he cared for, and whose safety he considered his special duty.

Ran visibly deflated the moment she yielded and accepted that she would stay behind.

Shiho took her now limp hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You will have plenty of time to fuss over your troublesome husband when he gets back."

Ran smiled at her weakly, knowing that this display of open comfort still felt odd for the young scientist. She usually felt much safer with her sarcasm and preferred to hide her caring nature behind an impassive attitude.

But Ran knew better.

She had become quite adapt at reading her true feelings and intentions, so she was aware of the other's worry for one injury-prone detective.

She squeezed back. _'Thank you.'_

"They are moving again," Satou exclaimed.

"Okay - everybody to the cars. Miyano-san, mind if we borrow your laptop for a while?" Megure asked while Sato and Takagi were already out of the room.

"By no means - take it and bring back that stupid detective geek."

Megure secured the laptop under one arm, nodded earnestly to the two women and was out of the door as well.

o-oOo-o

After another hour on the road, they slowed down considerably when the tires began to roll over a much rougher underground than before. Every now and then the transporter bounced and shook. So, an underground with many potholes – maybe a field track or forest path.

After what Shinichi guessed had been about fifteen minutes, they stopped.

 _'Now or never. When they drag me out of the car again, I have to get away.'_

He heard the shuffling of Muto and Ichikawa, who readied themselves to leave the car. The door slid open and Shinichi felt them grab his legs again to pull him out. This time he lowered his head down to the floor and let it drag over the rough carpet, chafing some skin on his left cheek in the process, but if he could get rid of the blindfold like this it was more than worth it.

Just before he was out of the door, he succeeded, and the blindfold came off. Rapidly he blinked some tears away, adjusting to the sudden bright light that hurt his eyes. This was more than risky. If they still had their guns close at hand, he wouldn't make it, but they'd had to use both their hands to get him out of the car, so chances were they had tucked the guns away.

"Hey!" Muto shouted when he saw that Shinichi had removed the fabric over his eyes. "Whatta' y' doing, punk?" He grabbed the lapels of Shinichi's suit jacket and pulled him up. Shinichi took advantage of the momentum and head-butted the man as hard as he dared without knocking himself out. It wasn't doing his concussion any good, but with his hands bound, he was very limited in his actions. Muto hadn't anticipated Shinichi's move and fell back cursing and held his busted nose.

Next Shinichi turned to Ichikawa, who was standing to his other side and managed to avoid a punch to his face at the last second. Ichikawa was of much heavier built than Muto and Shinichi was more than lucky that the man was thrown off-balance by his missed hit, so that Shinichi could sent him to the floor with a well-aimed kick in the back of his knees.

It would buy him only a few seconds at best and he had to run now, before the robbers got their bearings.

A quick glance through the car's front seat window showed him that Kitamura was already moving to open his door, weapon in hand and Shinichi turned in the other direction and broke into a sprint.

Now for the first time he became aware of his surroundings.

He was indeed in a forest. The transporter stood on a small clearing in front of a hut. If he could make it to the trees, his chances would rise somewhat. He dashed forward. It was difficult to breathe with the tape over his mouth while running, the air he sucked in through his nose barely enough to get by.

A shot rang out and he veered to the right, then to the left. Running in a straight line would just earn him a bullet in his back, so he continued to change directions. Just before he reached the first trees, a shot grazed his left ankle, making him stumble.

The bumpy forest floor did nothing for his balance that was already precarious, because he couldn't use his hands and arms to stabilize himself.

What he hadn't been able to see from a distance was, that on the side he was running to the terrain was sloping steeply directly behind the trees and with his next unsteady step, instead of solid ground there was just loose soil beneath his feet, crumbling away.

With a yelp, stifled by the gag, he went over the edge and tumbled down through bushes and twigs without any means to protect himself. Once or twice he hit a lager branch before his descent was suddenly stopped by a stump. The impact stole the bit of air he had left from his lungs and he choked, rendered unable to move. Dark splotches danced before his eyes and took over his vision as he lay amidst the dry foliage.

o-oOo-o

Up on the hill, Kitamura looked down where the detective had fallen, but already hadn't seen him anymore when he got there. The fall must have been harsh and deep.

He snorted. It was unlikely that the young man would be able to get back up on his own, if he had survived this at all. Too bad – now they would have to check if they still had a living hostage or if they had lost their leverage.

* * *

 **TBC**

* * *

 **A/N:  
** Hi there! So, just one more chapter to go and then this story will be wrapped up.  
I hope you liked it so far and thanks a lot for the comments/follows/favs! It keeps me going!


	5. five

o-oOo-o

Something around Shinichi rustled slightly when he began to move again. He opened his eyes and all he saw were dry leaves and dirt. A bit dazed, he tried to get up, moaning in pain behind then tape when the various bruises all over his body made themselves known. He was sure especially his back would be black and blue by tomorrow, after taking the brunt of the impact against the stump.

He could be thankful nothing seemed to be broken.

Realizing that it would be better to first free himself from the cuffs, he dug for the lock-pick.

 _'Have to remember to thank Kuroba later,"_ he thought grudgingly while he freed the tiny piece of metal from the seam, knowing how it would boost the magician's ego.

After a bit of fumbling, the cuffs finally fell off. Slowly, he got into a sitting position to check himself over. After removing the tape over his mouth, spitting out the fabric and inhaling deeply, he cringed and hissed when a sharp pain shot through his chest, caused by probably bruised ribs. It really was a miracle that he was still in one piece and aside from scratches, bruises and cuts all over his body, he was relatively unharmed. One hand went to the spot on his inner upper arm where the chip was implanted. He just hoped the thing hadn't been damaged or Shiho would have his hide.

He picked up one of the leaves from the ground and looked at the fragile veins. It was so dry it almost fell apart while he turned it between his thumb and index finger.

 _'Beech,'_ he classified the trees around him, which looked like they had been standing here for at least a century. It was rare to find beeches this old in Japan's woods. Most of them were cut down after ten to twenty years for timber production. Actually, there were just few places were deforestation has been forbidden since the Edo era. That piece of information together with the assumed time of two hours they had needed to get here, he had a quite good idea where he was.

 _'Mount Mito, huh? Certainly not a bad place to hide. It's not yet the time for hiking, so there will be not many people wandering around here. Also, there are many huts for taking shelter spread all over the area and they will not be frequented until the weather gets warmer.'_

Speaking of warmer – he suddenly felt how cold it was and was reminded that he was out in the woods without a propper jacket. His clothes were ripped in several places, bloody and beyond repair by now, and he briefly mourned the loss of his favorite black suit, but that was his least problem right now.

If he just could find one of the designated paths, he should be able to find his way out of the forest. Going back up to the hut the robbers used was out of the question. Squinting a bit, Shinichi tried to make out the top of the slope he had fallen down, but to no avail. He wasn't in a condition to go up against them anyway.

Carefully, he got to his feet and winced when he put pressure on the ankle the bullet had grazed. It burned and seemingly he also had twisted it. Great. Hiking through a forest on a cold day in March with a twisted ankle, bruised ribs and a throbbing head, not to speak of his aching back had not really been at the top of his to-do list. Not to mention the three robbers that would likely come to look for him, so it was better if he got moving now.

Testing his ankle again, he was fairly confident that he could make it if he favored this leg a bit. Getting steadier after a few wobbling steps, he began to descent the slope further down.

The forest seemed peaceful this time of the year. Naked trees showed just the slightest hint of hesitant green and the first birds of spring filled the air with their bright chirping. High trunks, low bushes all around him and dry twigs cracking under his shoes.

Nothing else.

Every few minutes he looked out for pursuers and he started to get a bit jumpy.

After what felt like hours, but actually couldn't have been that long, he reached a sign with the words 'Saihara Pass/Mt. Mito hut' written on it.

With a relieved sigh, he began to follow the steep wooden stairs that were leading down. Well, stairs would be said too much – more like trodden-in steps with wooden planks on them and he had to be careful not to lose his footing.

Suddenly, he felt a chill running down his spine.

His instincts were telling him that he was being watched – and not by some lonesome hiker. He could literally feel the ill-intend crawling over his skin.

Just the second he ducked, a shot rang out and the bark on the tree next to him splintered close to where his head had been a moment ago.

 _'Damn – they caught up fast. I can't stay on the path, I'm like a sitting duck here.'_

He quickly looked around to see where the shot had come from, but he couldn't see anyone. From the sound of the shot it hadn't been a handgun, but something bigger. Probably a rifle.

The only good news was that most rifles used for hunting couldn't hold many bullets, so the shooter had to reload fairly often. He just hoped it was that kind of rifle and not a sniper weapon, which had a bigger magazine. But whatever it was, Shinichi had to get out of the shooting range.

He left the path and skidded more than he ran down the slope, trying to get as many trees between him and the shooter as possible.

Again and again bullets hit the trees around him and it was pure luck that he wasn't dead by now. Despite that, he already sported a few more grazes from close calls on his arms and legs, he pushed the pain aside and concentrated solely on running.

In front of him he could hear the rushing of water and a few moments later he left the trees behind him and was now crossing a bridge over a river with a waterfall plunging down.

He just hoped that he wasn't far from someplace where he could hide, because at this point he was almost at his limit. Shinichi gathered his last strength and made for a quick sprint over the bridge. He clenched his teeth. His ankle felt as if it were on fire, but he couldn't slow down here. He was too out in the open on this bridge and he had no room to dodge.

And sure enough, the next bullet hit directly behind his feet, making him start.

Wait. His feet? Why was the shooter aiming so low?

A thought crossed his mind and his gasped. What if the shooter never had intended to kill him? If he had been herded the whole time?

When he had straightened himself and was ready to run again, he stumbled to a sudden stop.

On the other end of the bridge, Muto was waiting with his gun pointed at Shinichi. How he had managed to arrive there before him, Shinichi had no clue, but the robbers knew the terrain better than him and they had the transporter to get them from A to B fast.

Now he was stuck on the bridge with the shooter behind him and Muto in front of him.

His gaze lowered to the swiftly flowing current beneath him. The water was turbulent with rocks breaking through the surface. So, not an escape route if he wanted to stay alive.

"Done running, detective?" came Kitamura's calm voice from behind.

Shinichi turned sideways not to have a weapon in his back. Kitamura stepped onto the bridge in a nonchalant manner and halted just three meters from Shinichi. The rifle in his hand was indeed one used for hunting and the muzzle was facing down. Obviously, he was sure that Shinichi wasn't a threat for him and that Muto's gun was enough to keep him in check.

And sadly, Shinichi had to admit that he was right. He couldn't do anything in this situation but let himself be captured again. His escape attempt had brought him not more than additional injuries, but he refused to despair. He wasn't dead yet and he would fight to his last moment to get out of here.

Sure, he could try to escape again when they exchanged him for Sugihara, but if they really intended to play fair was questionable. He had absolutely no gurantees that they would keep him alive and just giving in and hoping for the best had never been his style.

Kitamura smiled at him disdainfully. "As fun as our little walk through the woods has been, I have to ask you to follow us back to the hut. Your room is ready and waiting for you and I'm sure the police are anxious to hear from you as well-"

"That's right," suddenly Megure's voice rang out and Shinichi swiveled around to see the Inspector and a small troop of officers appearing on the other side of the bridge. Muto went down after a well-aimed blow to his neck from Satou-keiji.

Megure's eyes scanned over Shinichi's appearance and narrowed in anger. Shinichi knew he must look worse for wear and even though it wasn't his fault, he felt bad for causing worry yet again.

Then the Inspector stepped forward and his gun was aimed at Kitamura. "Kitamura-san, put your rifle down and lift your hands behind your head. You will not get away. We've already arrested Ichikawa-san as well, so there will be no one helping you anymore. Kudou-kun, come over here."

With a smug expression, Kitamura tried to hide his anger and confusion. "Inspector, nice to meet you in person finally." He had worked so hard on the plans for the robberies and just one damn detective in the wrong place at the wrong time was able to ruin everything? Impossible! "Though, I really have to wonder how you got here so fast. Maybe the police are not as incompetent as I thought," he taunted and ignored the order he had been given.

Megure snorted. Arrogant prick. "That should be none of your concern right now. I repeat it one last time. Put the weapon down!"

"Hmm…," the robber tilted his head as if in thought. "Maybe Sugihara wasn't as loyal as I thought. Did he sing? It is so hard to find good people. But even if he did – he had no idea where we were going. Well, it doesn't really matter how much he said – if he is a traitor, I have no use for him any longer, what means…" He fixated his gaze on Shinichi again, who leaned against the railing, putting off weight from his injured ankle, still panting from the run and didn't dare to leave his position with the weapon still in Sugihara's hands.

Sugihara grinned. "...I don't need you either - I don't need anybody!" he laughed out. "Not Muto or Ichikawa. You want to take me out here? Let me tell you, detective who messed up everything-" his eyes held a cruel glint when he yanked up the rifle and aimed at Shinichi again. "I will take _you_ down with me at least!"

Shinichi's eyes went wide when he realized that now any second a bullet would end him. He was way too close to the rifle to dodge and it was impossible for Kitamura to miss him at this distance.

Everything seemed to slow down as he saw Kitamura's finger beginning to pull the trigger. Then a roaring sound from the left became louder by the second and a powerful gust of wind hit both men on the bridge unprepared when a small chopper came into view. On the seat next to the pilot, Takagi was visible.

Shinichi recovered from the shock an insant faster than his opponent and used the chance of distraction to tackle him with all his might. With Shinichi on top, Kitamura fell backwards with a shout and the rifle went off, sending the bullet astray over Shinichi's head into the open air.

They wrestled for the weapon and Shinichi was thrown off by the stronger man, now laying on his back, the rifle between them. Instead of pulling, the robber began to push the rifle down to crush Shinichi's throat and the detective reacted instinctively and drew his legs up.

His legs had always been his strong point. Years of soccer practice had strengthened the muscles considerably and after he had worked together with Kuroba, he had kept up the strict workout the magician had come up with for him.

Yes, everything hurt right now and yes, his ankle was killing him, but to hell with it! If he didn't pull through now… He coughed as the rifle restricted his breathing. Just distantly he was aware of someone shouting his name and the sound of pounding feet on the bridge.

With a desperate yell, he shoved his feet against Kitamura's abdomen as hard as he could.

One moment he was pressed down by the other man and the next the robber's weight was gone, allowing him to gulp in some much-needed air. But only for a short moment, because then he felt a strong grip on his injured ankle, spiking the pain, and then a _pull_.

Before he knew it, his body was being dragged over the wooden planks and then there suddenly was nothing under his lower back. His kick had pushed Kitamura off the bridge and he had held on to the only thing within his reach and took the detective with him. Shinichi frantically kicked at the hand around his ankle until the robber finally let go, but it was too late.

A fearful second he hung seemingly suspended in the air before gravity set in again.

Before he could plummet into the river and be crushed on the hard rocks, someone grabbed his hand and tried to pull him back up. Something soft, small and brown fell down and brushed his cheek. Shinichi shook his head to get rid of the shock and looked up.

"Megure-keibu," he croaked out surprised and relieved.

The Inspector held onto him with one hand while the other was clenched around the railing.

"Don't you dare let go, Kudou-kun," he pressed out through gritted teeth. His hat was missing and the scar on his forehead stood out white against his face that was red from the huge effort.

Shinichi could just nod and hold on.

"Keibu!" he heard Satou's shout and a moment later, more hands joined the Inspector's and with combined strength they managed to get him back to safety.

Back up on the bridge he rolled onto his back and just lay there with closed eyes - panting and trying to steady his racing heartbeat, allowing himself a moment to recover from this stunt.

Next to him he could feel Megure's presence and heard his also heavy breathing.

When he felt steady enough to speak, he slowly pushed himself up and met the Inspector's eyes. In them he could read worry, anger, exhaustion and most of all – utter relief.

They held the eye-contact for a moment and understood each other without words.

 _'Thank you!'_

 _'Any time.'_

Shinichi's gaze went down through the small gaps between the planks where he could see the river rushing past and how the water broke against the rocks. A fine tremour ran through his whole body as he stared into the water and tried to suppress the thought that he had kind of pushed a man down there.

"Thank god - we made it time, Kudou-kun!" Satou's exclaimation jolted him from his trance-like state and she began to check on his injuries while an officer Shinichi didn't know asked Megure if he was alright, earning a gruffy 'yes, yes'.

"Can you stand up?" the female detective asked him after she was sure that he wasn't critically hurt.

Shinichi exhaled and gave her a small smile, taking her outstretched hand. "Yeah – I think I'll manage, thanks."

After testing his legs and some shaky stumbling, one of the unfamiliar officers offered his support and helped Shinichi to limp back to the waiting police cars, while the detective spoke with Megure and Satou.

"Well, I guess you know now about my small – extra," he said sheepishly.

Megure let out a short huff. "We do, and really – only you, Kudou-kun." He shook his head unbelievingly, but still thankful for Ran's foresight/paranoia. Who knew how this would have ended without the little gimmick Miyano had equipped the detective with, who looked a bit uncomfortable in his skin right now.

"No worries," Satou laughed. "We won't tell anyone about it – promise."

Shinichi smiled gratefully. "But you really arrived here fast," he remarked thoughtfully, remembering the chopper. While he knew that the MPD did have own helicopters that one hasn't been one of them as far as he knew.

"Well," Megure cleared his throat. "Getting a chopper on such short notice for a hastily organized rescue was kind of hard, because all of our own are out on other missions, but you _do_ have some influential friends, or at least you wife has."

"My,…" He was dumbfounded for a moment, before it clicked. "Don't tell me…"

They now reached a clearing were several police cars stood, and in the air, he could see the chopper nearing as well. Now, he was able to make out the logo printed on its side and groaned. He would never hear the end of it from Sonoko.

"It was the only way to catch up to you," Satou said with an understanding grin. "We called ahead for reinforcements from the local police and they were a great help navigating through the forest."

Megure nodded approvingly. "Takagi stayed in the chopper and followed the river's stream, because we could see that you were near it. He would have been in charge in case you would have ended up in the water and-" He stopped, recalling how the river had looked like under the bridge and shuddered. It was bad enough that Kitamura had fallen in. Right now, officers were searching for the man – the body.

Shinichi gulped. Fortunately, it hadn't come to that. They watched as the chopper touched down on the clearing.

"You will fly with me and Takagi back to Tokyo," Megure stated and looked at Satou, who nodded and went over to one of the cars as the chopper only had seats for the pilot and three passengers.

"There should be a first-aid kit on board, but I think it is time to get you looked at in a hospital," the Inspector said after he'd turned to Shinichi with an amused expression. "I've heard, Beika General has very capable personnel."

Shinichi moaned. _'Forget about Sonoko – Ran is much scarier.'_

Megure laughed at his disgruntled face, glad that he wouldn't be the one to stand question and answer to the former karate champion.

o-oOo-o

Ran waited for the chopper on the hospital's roof after Megure had informed her that they would be there soon and that they had Shinichi with them.

Safe.

He was safe.

She in- and exhaled deeply, calming her nerves.

She would personally take care of it that he bought Shiho any purse or handbag she desired. If it hadn't been for the chip…

 _'No, no,'_ she shook her head. _'Don't think about it. It's okay. He will be here any minute now.'_

She already knew about most of his injuries and had brought a wheelchair. He would be embarrassed, but he would have to deal with it. She had been so _afraid_ …

Finally, the chopper landed. She would also see to it that he would do something nice for Sonoko. Maybe invite her to the next all-you-can-eat cake buffet.

When the side-door opened, and Shinichi slowly got out with Takagi's help, her breath caught in her throat. Even though she knew that he had been hurt, but overall was okay, seeing him like this let her worry flare up again.

His suit was battered and dirty, the light blue dress-shirt sported dark stains of dried blood. The gash on his temple had been seen to with a bandage from a first-aid kit and most of the blood on his face had been rubbed off. Probably with some antiseptic while cleaning out the various cuts and scratches.

He spotted her and gave her an uncertain wave and a weak smile.

She really had wanted to lecture him about self-preservation, to give him a good yell for worrying her, but all that crumbled and gave way for a warm, bubbly feeling inside her and tears welled up in her eyes.

She ran towards him and he caught her in his arms in a tight embrace, then let out a sharp hiss and they eased up a bit, mindful of his wounds.

Megure went and fetched the wheelchair. After he gave the couple a moment together, he tapped on Shinichi's shoulder and gestured for him to sit down.

Ran had to hide a grin behind her hand when she saw her husband's horrified look.

"Down you go," the Inspector said strictly, and Shinichi couldn't do anything, but obey. "I'm sure your wife wants to have a look at the mess you've made of yourself. I await your presence in the department tomorrow for your statement." Shinichi already had told him everything on their way back, so there was no need to haul him to the PD today. "Ran-kun," he bid her goodbye with a nod and went back to the waiting chopper.

Ran turned around, pushing Shinichi in the wheelchair in front of her. Having him right beside her and knowing that he would be okay, lifted the heavy feeling that had weighed down her heart. "So~, mister great detective," she said with a smile that didn't bode well for him. "Care to explain how you got dragged into a crime _this_ time instead of getting the documents?"

Shinichi swallowed and resigned himself to his fate. Maybe next time he should let Ran go to the bank.

* * *

 **A/N:** Mount Mito actually exists and is located approximately two hours from Tokyo. There also is a bridge with a waterfall. I took some liberties concerning the distances and order of places, but if you want to go hiking, it seems to be a nice route. Also, I have no knowledge about rifles, so well, sorry if I got something wrong.

I hope you had fun! Please concider to leave me a review before you go - it would be much appreciated!

Take care!  
Tobina


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